HC at Noon delves deep into the breaking news that the Oilers have fired Todd McLellan for a very experienced head coach in Ken Hitchcock, wondering how much time GM Peter Chiarelli has in Edmonton.
The Edmonton Oilers shocked the hockey world Tuesday by firing head coach Todd McLellan and pulling Ken Hitchcock out of retirement to replace him.
Once the news dropped, Twitter was predictably full of hot takes. Hockey fans questioned whether the Oilers made the right move, and the heat on GM Peter Chiarelli got turned up even more.
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Here are some of the best reactions.
Since the Oilers went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006…Craig MacTavish, Pat Quinn, Tom Renney, Ralph Krueger, Dallas Eakins, Todd Nelson, Todd McLellan and now Ken Hitchcock have been the team's head coach.
— John Shannon (@JSportsnet) November 20, 2018
Oilers fire Todd McLellan. His main mistakes: trading a future MVP, signing a 6 million dollar player who can’t score and failure to draft any real wingers. Sorry…that wasn’t him. #chiarelli.
— Sid Seixeiro (@Sid_Seixeiro) November 20, 2018
Hitchcock under contract until end of the season. Then, the Oilers will re-evaluate.
Perfect situation for a team that may fire the GM if playoffs missed.— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) November 20, 2018
The best part of the Oilers coaching news is the Undertaker gifs pic.twitter.com/Dv2V4wA1te
— Dave Breakenridge (@BreakenridgeYEG) November 20, 2018
Once upon a time, Ken Hitchcock was the manager in charge of team equipment sales at a sporting goods store in Edmonton. Now, after a long coaching career that was supposedly finished, he takes over the Oilers.
— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) November 20, 2018
Who’s next for the #Oilers? Scotty Bowman? #joke #chaos
— Jeff Hendrick (@jeffhendrick) November 20, 2018
Is Chiarelli hoping that Hitch will be able to play on D, between the pipes and on the wing next to Connor too?#Oilers #NHL
— Bradley Karp (@BradleyKarp) November 20, 2018
The weirdest part about the Oilers hiring Hitchcock is he didn't play for them 35 years ago.
— Steve Dangle Glynn (@Steve_Dangle) November 20, 2018
Also, it's entirely possible that Hitchcock is a one-and-done coach for the Oilers no matter what happens this year. Say what you will about McLellan, but at least the team had the same coach for more than, like, two seasons for the first time this decade.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) November 20, 2018
Everything is happening! #Oilers pic.twitter.com/2IeCrsaDyc
— Trevor Robb (@TrevorRobb_) November 20, 2018
It'll be easier to move on from Hitchcock when the Oilers get rid of Chiarelli
— Satiar Shah (@SatiarShah) November 20, 2018
So the Flyers don't fight. … And now the Oilers are going to try to play defence. … What is the NHL coming to?
— Kevin McGran (@kevin_mcgran) November 20, 2018
I can't say I'm surprised that McLellan got fired. Thought it might come tonight. But he sure didn't get much help from his gm during his tenure
— Paul Gackle (@GackleReport) November 20, 2018
Despite a rocky start to the season. The Oilers are only 3 points out of a playoff spot. West is wide open with so many teams struggling.
— David Amber (@DavidAmber) November 20, 2018
Here we all thought that after landing McDavid, the Oilers rebuild would take off without a Hitch.
— Ian McLaren (@iancmclaren) November 20, 2018
Ken Hitchcock's retirement lasted 221 days. #Oilers
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) November 20, 2018
